Council concern over changes to law on private hire minicabs

A battle ward councillor is worried about changes in the law which could put people at risk when using private hire minicabs.

Councillor Sarah Hacker raised her concerns at Reading Borough Council’s full council meeting on Tuesday last week.

She asked the lead member for strategic environment, planning and transport if he shared her concern at the proposals in the Deregulation Bill to “relax the use of private hire vehicles (PHVs) with potentially very serious implications for the safety of passengers and particularly vulnerable people”.

Cllr Tony Page responded: “Reading Borough Council, in common with some authorities and the Local Government Association nationally, is alarmed at the proposals in the Deregulation Bill currently before Parliament to deregulate important elements of private hire vehicle licensing.

“We are concerned about clause 10 of the bill which would enable anyone to drive a PHV when it is off-duty and clause 12 which would enable private hire firms to sub-contract to other firms where they are unable to fulfil the bookings themselves.”

He went on: “Most PHVs have permanent and very visible branding and we do not believe that people will be able to identify when a car is off-duty. Clause 10 would increase the risk of individuals or gangs using PHVs to exploit passengers and particularly vulnerable children.

“Professor Alex Jay’s recent report into the dreadful abuse perpetrated against children in Rotherham highlighted the role played by PHVs in ferrying children in places where they were abused.

“In light of that case, the right response is to focus on ensuring that existing controls around private hire licences are applied as rigorously as possible, rather than introducing deregulatory measures that would create new opportunities to exploit users of PHVs.”

He said the council was of the view only “people who have been vetted by the local council should be able to drive PHVs.”

The council also opposes the clause which would allow bookings to be sub-contracted.

He said: “Passengers place a significant level of trust in a company when they get into one of their cars and we therefore believe they have a right to know which company’s car they are getting into.

“As it stands clause 12 would not ensure this.”

He said the National Council for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the Suzie Lamplugh Trust, more than 15 police and crime commissioners and a range of other organisations were also opposed to the two clauses.

He added: “Last week, on behalf of the LGA, I met Baroness Susan Kramer, the Minister of State at the Department for Transport, to reiterate the strong cross-party opposition to these clauses.”

He said at the meeting that the Government was preparing to drop clause 10 when it came before the House of Lords that day – which it did – however it was “pressing on” with the other clauses.

Cllr Page said: “We called on the Secretary of State for Transport to withdraw all these ill-considered and dangerous proposals, not just clause 10.”